Chapter One
Jessa
“I’ll call you as soon as the plane lands,” my father assures me. I push up onto my tiptoes and press a kiss to his cheek. He doesn’t smile, only nods at my gesture. He’s never been the kind of person who wears his emotions on his sleeve, actually he’s the kind of person who shows his emotions, well, never. He doesn’t like leaving me all alone in this big house, and I understand why, but I’m tired of accompanying him to these galas and events every weekend. I want to break free, want some time alone, to enjoy the silence of the night. I want to be a twenty-something-year-old woman, not my father’s pretend date to every charity on the east coast.
“Remember to keep the doors locked, and that there will be guards posted outside the house, so if there are any problems at all I will know.”
I nearly roll my eyes. I know he does everything he does to keep me safe, but it’s a little overkill.
I watch my father leave, thinking how ridiculous he is for worrying all the time. What could possibly happen while I’m at home? I smile to myself, knowing I’ve finally made some progress when it comes to him letting me have some independence. Usually, I’m forced to go wherever he is, but I begged and pleaded for days, telling him he just needed to give me one chance, and I could prove to him that I could manage to be alone.
As soon as my father’s car is out of sight, I run back upstairs and into my bedroom and make myself comfortable stripping out of my jeans and into a three-times-too-big cotton T-shirt. I take off my makeup and put my blonde hair up in a messy bun. Then I head to the kitchen grabbing the tub of mint-chip ice cream I’ve been craving all day from the freezer.
Throwing myself down on the couch I watch TV and eat spoonful after spoonful of ice cream directly from the tub. To most, it might seem like a mundane thing to do, but to me, it’s unusual to have the liberty of simply sitting on the couch, and watching TV, or eating what I want to, when I want to.
I might be twenty, but my father has never stopped treating me like a ten-year-old. He rarely lets me out of his sight and when he does, he usually has his goons breathing down my neck. I’ve been sheltered my entire life, doing all my schooling from home with high-end tutors.
I never got to go to high school graduation or have a birthday party. I pout into the tub of ice cream, momentarily forgetting the TV show I’m watching. Sometimes it feels like my father is hiding me, like he doesn’t want anyone to know I exist.
Lonely. Secluded. Those are just a few words that I would use to describe my life. I sigh and continue to eat until my stomach is so full, I feel like I’m about to explode. I don’t really feel like getting up, but I also don’t want this delicious ice cream to go to waste. I would much rather prefer to have it for breakfast, so I get up from the couch bringing the tub with me, and start walking toward the kitchen.
As soon as I step into the hallway, I hear it. Deep, masculine voices echo through the house, coming from the backdoor. Ugh, he promised me he wouldn’t send anybody in to check on me. I should have known he would break that promise. He never keeps his promises, always telling me he does everything that he can to protect me. Well, I’m old enough to leave now, and I’m done letting him protect me from…well nothing thus far. I have no proof that there is any risk to my life, and until I do, I’m not going to let this shit keep happening.
Angrily I set down the tub of ice cream on the foyer table and stomp my ass to the back door. I don’t care if his men are just following orders, they’re about to get a mouthful.
I round the corner like a bat out of hell, my finger in the air, more than ready to yell at my father’s security team when I come to a sudden halt. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and a shiver of fear makes its way up my spine. Confusion settles deep into my bones. All the anger residing inside me just seconds ago evaporates into thin air when my eyes land on two tall men dressed in black standing at the very end of the hallway…two men I know for certain that are not a part of my father’s security.
Two men that are not supposed to be here.